A World Lost
by AznTigress
Summary: One minute Cloud was making deliveries and the next his world was falling apart. Set after FF7. KH connection
1. Part I

**A/N:** This is my first one-shot fanfiction so I hope it's not too bad. Enjoy!

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**A World Lost: Part I**

It was just another sunny day in Junon as Cloud Strife finishes off another delivery with a meek smile. The young woman before him accepts her package and thanks him with a warm smile of her own. With a wave of his hand, he turns to descend the wooden steps until a very familiar voice rings out his name. Curious, Cloud turns around to see a dark skinned little girl dash up to him happily.

"Wow, you look different, Cloud," she points out with a childlike innocence. She frowns upon seeing the young man's confused expression. "Don't you remember me? It's me, Priscilla!"

A light went off in his head as Cloud's eyebrows flew up in recognition. "Oh, yeah. Priscilla. How are you?"

"I'm fine thanks to your oh-so-wonderful mouth-to-mouth," coos the little girl, batting her eyes.

"Oh, so _you're_ the Cloud that she keeps talking about," exclaims the young woman. "I apologize if my niece had caused any trouble for you. I was in Gongagga when you came along and rescued her. Thank you for taking care of her."

"It's no trouble at all," assures Cloud sheepishly. "I'm just glad she's all right."

"Don't you think you should change that SOLDIER uniform of yours?" asserts the young woman with both hands on her hips. "For many of the old folks around here, that outfit can bring back a lot of bad memories of Shin-Ra."

The young man looks down at his royal violet-colored clothes and SOLDIER armor as she spoke of his attire and blushes lightly.

_Maybe Tifa's right,_ he thought. _I guess I'll go clothes-shopping with her tomorrow._

"Well, you must have other deliveries that you must attend to so I'll just let you be on your way," sighs the dark-skinned young woman.

"Bye Cloudie-poo!" squeals Priscilla as he went down the stairs to his bike. "Come back soon!"

The blonde-haired swordsman chuckles quietly at his pet-name as he climbs onto his Hardy-DAYTONA and heads off towards the mountains. It was already late afternoon as Cloud rushes to get back to the newly-formed town of Edge before the more troublesome nocturnal monsters come out. As he nears the peak of the Junon mountain range, he suddenly began noticing the sky getting unusually darker. He stops at the top and takes out his PHS to check the time.

"It's only 2:45 PM and it's already that dark?" he exclaims in surprise. He looks up at the pitch-black sky to find not one single star. "This… is weird."

All of a sudden, black creatures with glowing yellow eyes emerge from the shadows around him. Quickly flipping the PHS shut, he takes out his trusty Buster Sword and slashes through one creature that leapt at him. Its body disappears in a cloud of black smoke as two more jumps at him. Jumping off the bike, he whips out a Magic Materia and brings those and several others down in a blaze of Fire3. More came from the shadows and Buster Sword makes quick work of them with a shot of Blade Beam.

"What _are_ these?" wondered Cloud as he finishes off four more of the shadow creatures with Fire3.

Turning around, he quickly mounts the Hardy-DAYTONA and races towards Edge with the shadow creatures straggling after him. He was worried for Tifa and the orphans back at the new Seventh Heaven bar and wanted more than anything to make sure they were all right.

Halfway down the mountain, a humanoid shadow with wings and a ragged-edge sword lash out at him, causing him to fall off the bike and the bike itself to be sliced in two. A throbbing pain attacks Cloud's head as he struggles to his feet to face off against the strange monster hovering before him with sword in hand. Before he could reach for the Buster Sword, the creature flies at him and was about to deliver a powerful blow to his head until a gunshot rang out and the creature's sword was flicked away in an instant. In the blink of an eye, a familiar red-cloaked stranger lands between Cloud and the shadow creature.

"Vincent!" cries out the blonde-haired swordsman.

"Are you all right?" asks the gunman.

"I'm fine; just a few bruises here and there," answered back Cloud as he takes out Buster Sword. "What are these things anyways? I've never seen them before."

"They came from darkness," exclaims Vincent, shooting the airborne creature in the chest.

Cloud watches as the flying creature turns into black vapors just like the shadow creatures he encountered before. "Darkness?"

Another five shadow creatures leap at him, which quickly dissipates as Buster Sword's blade ran through them. As Cloud and Vincent fought off the strange creatures, another, more powerful one emerges from the shadows. This one causes all of the other shadow creatures to withdraw in fear and disappear into the shadows. Confused by the retreat, the two fighters wonder what was going on. It was Cloud who was the first to notice the powerful being and his eyes widen in horror at the sight.

There, standing before the two of them was Sephiroth in the flesh! Vincent couldn't believe it either. Though dressed in otherworldly garments and sporting a navy-blue and black colored wing on his right side, it was still Sephiroth nonetheless. The madman who threatened to destroy the Planet was back. Masamune in hand and all.

"It's been a while, Cloud."

"This can't be!" exclaim the swordsman. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Even after all this time, you continue to fall into darkness," responded Sephiroth with an evil gleam in his eye and a satisfied smirk on his face. "As long as you continue to turn to darkness, I will never be just a memory."

In one quick stroke, the silver-haired man aims his deadly sword towards Cloud and strikes. Before the tip of the Masamune's blade could reach the young man, Vincent instantaneously intervenes and the sword goes through him instead. Everything happened so fast that Cloud was unable to fathom what was going on in front of him.

Greatly disappointed by the unexpected act of sacrifice, Sephiroth tears Masamune out of Vincent, leaving the man gasping in excruciating pain. Cloud rushes to catch him before he could hit the ground.

"Vincent…" he exclaims as he held the dying man in his arms. "Why… you shouldn't…"

"You must live, Cloud," chokes Vincent. "Our world is gone. You must live so that there is hope for our world."

"What are you talking about?" demanded the blonde-haired swordsman. Up until now, Cloud hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings, but now he finally looks up and gasps at the horrors around them. "Wha-what…"

They were all on a single crust of mountainous earth. Everywhere else was nothing but an endless abyss of darkness. Cloud couldn't see his world anymore. Pieces of it floated about around them as if something had eaten away at the Planet.

"No…" stuttered the young man, his eyes wide with shock. "Tifa… Marlene… Everyone… Where did… Where did they go?!"

"They're all gone, Cloud," exclaims Sephiroth in a sneering tone. "Gone. Everything and everyone you've ever known. And it's all your fault."

"What? But how… I don't understand!"

"You just couldn't let go of the darkness in your heart, could you?"

"What are you talking about? All I wanted to do was help people!"

"You keep on saying that and you just might believe it."

"How dare you!"

"You can't help anyone. You're still the weak little puppet I've always known."

"You don't know me!"

"Oh, but I do. I know you better than anyone. Even better than yourself."

Vincent could see that Sephiroth was getting the better of his friend and had to do something about it. Cloud can't fight if he is clouded by his own anger and hatred for Sephiroth. With the last of his strength, he plunges his clawed hand into his chest to pull out the Ancient Materia within him.

"Vincent! What are you doing?" exclaimed Cloud, appalled by his friend's actions.

Without a word, Vincent forces the glowing orb into his friend's chest. A bright light engulfs the area as Vincent's body began to deteriorate. When the light has faded away, Cloud was surprised to don the man's signature tattered cape and his claw hand. A dark demonic wing flutters over his left shoulder, signifying a complete mergence. Clad in a completely new outfit and new strength, Cloud wields his now-bandaged Buster Sword with determination in his blue eyes.

"Humph, you're still no match for me even with your friend's help," scoffs Sephiroth with Masamune ready to strike. "I possess the power of darkness."

Growling under his breath, Cloud lashes out at the silver-haired man and the two engaged in a blinding swordfight. As their blades clashed, the rest of the Planet around them was getting sucked up into a dark hole in the sky. Cloud could sense the ground beneath them moving, but continues his onslaught of slashes and deflections to defeat his powerful nemesis again and hopefully for good. He brings his sword up towards the airborne Sephiroth, who blocks it with his own, putting the two in a blade-to-blade midair standoff as they were getting sucked into the mysterious hole as well. The last thing Cloud saw was Sephiroth's sneering smile as his world went black.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Part II

**A/N:** This is my first one-shot fanfiction so I hope it's not too bad. Enjoy!

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**A World Lost: Part II**

_A rumbling._

_Sounded like rocks falling._

_But where?_

_Doesn't sound too far._

_Where am I?_

Groaning tiredly, Cloud forces his eyes to open and finds himself staring up at the roof of a cave. Sitting up, he looks down at himself to see that he still wore Vincent's cloak and claw as well as sporting a demonic wing on his left shoulder, most likely a remnant of his friend's Chaos form. At his right side lay the bandaged Buster Sword, the last remaining piece of his world.

Still confused by what happened to him, Cloud gets up with Buster Sword in hand and looks around. He stood between two opposite stone doors that most likely led to different connecting caverns. Around him were odd-looking torches that burn with blue flames. The land bridge that he was on connected the two stone doors and lay on a sea of smoky violet. Cloud didn't know what to make of the strange violet-colored sea-like thing. He strolls over to the edge of the rocky platform and looks down. Suddenly, a ghost swims by and Cloud stumbles back in surprise. He stumbles back far enough to accidentally bump into someone from behind.

"Whoa-ho, hey there!"

The blonde-haired swordsman quickly turns about to apologize until the sight of the stranger stopped him in his tracks. The man before him, if he was a man at all, had sharp teeth and wore a foreign, and perhaps cultural, attire that Cloud could not identify. The most interesting part about the stranger overall was his hair. If you could call a burning blue fire hair anyways.

"You're… not from around here are ya?" asked the odd man.

"Uh…" exclaims Cloud, not able to take his blue eyes off the strange face and hair.

"Yep, tourist; I thought so," confirmed the man.

"… Who are you?" wondered Cloud.

"What?! You don't recognize me? The great god of the underworld? The one whom so many fear that they shake at the sound of my name? The one, the only, Hades?!"

Cloud's silence earns an exasperated sigh from the odd man.

"Well, nobody's perfect so don't feel too bad," exclaims Hades with disappointment written all over his face.

"…So, I'm guessing this is the underworld?" exclaimed Cloud.

"Ding, ding, ding! Folks, we have a winner!" vociferates the demonic god. Seeing that Cloud was not even slightly amused by his antics, Hades began looking him over. "Interesting sword you got there. I'm thinking you know how to use that thing, correct?"

Not knowing what the god was up to, Cloud looks down at his sword and then back at the man. "Yes."

"Ah, interesting," responded Hades, putting his hands together. "So what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?"

_That's what I want to know_, thought Cloud. He thought about what to do now. His home was gone and he had no knowledge of how to get back. In addition to that, he was worried about what had happened to his friends and about why Sephiroth had returned. _What did he mean that I couldn't let go of the darkness?_

"Hey, have you seen a guy with long, silver hair and a black wing on his right shoulder?" he asks Hades.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell," answered the god. _But, this guy could prove quite useful_, thought Hades. Suddenly, an idea pops up in his flaming head.

"Tell you what," exclaim the god of the underworld as he puts and arm around Cloud's shoulder. "I'll help you find who it is you're looking for if you're willing to do a little something for me."

Cloud looks the guy over. Something told him that this Hades can't be trusted, but he's in a completely different world with no way of getting home or finding his friends. If he could just find Sephiroth, things could go back to the way they were. Maybe he could exploit the powers of darkness using this Hades guy.

_Why not?_ He thought. _I've got nothing to lose, really._

With his mind made up, Cloud looks up at Hades. "What do you want?"

"Okay, so there's this guy I want killed," began the god. "His name's Hercules and he and a little goat man run a series of tournaments upstairs in their little coliseum."

"And in return you'll help me find who I'm looking for?" affirms Cloud.

"That's the deal!" exclaim Hades. Suddenly, a glowing piece of paper pops up in his hand. "Just sign the contract and let's get this party started!"

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After Hades gets Cloud up to the world of the living, the blonde-haired swordsman makes his way to the coliseum lobby. As he saunters along, thoughts kept rolling in his head. He's not sure if Hades will stick with his word, but he's got to do anything he can to find Sephiroth. Vincent sacrificed himself for a reason and Cloud won't stop until he finds Sephiroth and defeats him. Tifa, Marlene, and everyone depended on him and he let them down. With nothing to lose, he'll stop at nothing to regain what he had lost.

Once in the lobby, he registers his name on the roster and steps out into the coliseum. On the way he passes by a strange group consisting of a teenage boy with a giant key, a wand-wielding duck, and a shield-holding upright dog.

_Things just get weirder and weirder_, thought Cloud as he passes by, looking eye-to-eye with the boy. _He looks to be around my age when I first entered Shin-Ra to become a SOLDIER. I hope he's not here to enter the games._

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Cloud was stunned to see that little boy manage to beat one enemy after the other with that giant key weapon of his. He crosses his arms in disbelief; he had never expected to have to go against a mere kid during this whole deal and now he was getting second thoughts.

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all_, he thought._ I don't want to have to mess up a little kid just to find Sephiroth. That's not right._

However, his belief was not shared by Hades, who excitedly commands him to defeat the boy. Cloud couldn't figure out what the big deal was with the god and the boy.

"The great god of the underworld is afraid of a kid?" he exclaims his thoughts. "Sorry, but my contract says—"

"I know what the contract says! I wrote it! You think I don't know what the contract says?" replied Hades angrily. "I know it requires that you beat Hercules and that's it, but you need to fight that kid in order to get to him! C'mon!"

_He's right_, thought Cloud. _A deal's a deal. I can't back out of this._

Not entirely happy that he would have to fight a teenage boy, Cloud saunters off to the arena field.

Standing on the arena facing off against the boy and his friends, Cloud couldn't help but think of how determined and unfaltering the boy looked in winning the games. He remembered a determination he once had to become a member of SOLDIER, to follow in the footsteps of his hero, and become a famous hero himself. All those dreams of being strong, of being able to protect the people he cared about. He couldn't help but feel that the boy felt the same way. To fight for what you believe in and protect those close to you. In a way, Cloud felt as if he was fighting himself.

The match began and Cloud starts out strong, dashing fast and holding his sword in a manner meant for piercing through his enemy. The boy readily deflects his onslaught with his strange key and strikes back with a series of hammers and slashes. Cloud was taken aback by the boy's willpower and strength. There was a chance he could actually be beaten by this kid! A frown forms upon his face as he jumps up and stabs the ground with the Buster Sword, sending immense shockwaves that damaged the boy and his animal friends. Cloud didn't want to defeat the boy and crush his dreams of being hero, but he wasn't about be beaten by the kid either.

Summoning all the energy he could, the blonde-haired swordsman attacks with a series of dashing slashes that hit their mark on the boy, finishing it off with his earth-piercing shockwave. The kid was weakened, but not ready to give up just yet. He swings his key around to slash at Cloud, who blocks the attack with his Buster Sword. The boy continues his onslaught, hacking and slashing until he manages to knock Cloud off balance. Taking advantage of the situation, the boy quickly releases a series of attacks upon the opened swordsman, who was unable to get his sword in position to deflect the attacks. With one final blow, the boy slams the head of the giant key down Cloud's head, finally defeating him.

Cloud couldn't believe it. The kid actually beat him! And not only that, he had the courteousness to offer a friendly handshake afterwards.

_Great fighter, nice guy, and good sportsmanship_, thought Cloud. _He sort of reminds me of—_

He couldn't finish his thought as he turns around to find a dark shape come down on him and knock him unconscious.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Part III

**A World Lost: Part III**

When Cloud finally gained consciousness, his body felt as if it was under tons of very heavy rocks and knocked around very roughly. Groaning and in pain, he tries to sit himself up only to fall back down on his back.

"Hey, easy there, big guy!"

Confused, Cloud turns to find a very muscular man wearing what appeared to be chest armor, sandals, and… a skirt? However, it didn't look out of place on the man and Cloud didn't want to question anything anymore. He felt that he's seen enough strange stuff for one day and decides to close his eyes, hoping to somehow awaken in his cozy room in the Seventh Heaven bar and seeing someone standing over him with a frustrated look on her face. "Wake up sleepyhead," he could hear her say and then the abrupt kick on his bed frame. Cloud could remember a time when this person wasn't such a tough fighter. Back then she was kind and sweet, never wanting to hurt or be hurt.

"Who…," he exclaims solemnly. He brings a hand up to his head. "What's going on with me?"

"Hey, are you going to be okay?" wonders the muscular man.

"Who are you?" asks Cloud.

"I'm Hercules," introduces the man. "By the way, that kid you lost to, he's in the arena fighting off Cerberus. Amazing, huh?"

"Cerberus?" echoes Cloud.

"The three-headed giant dog that stepped on you," answered Hercules. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece. Most mortals would be pancakes in your shoes."

"And that kid's fighting it?"

"Yep!"

Cloud manages to sit himself up and looks down at the ground. "There's so much that I don't understand."

Hercules looks him over, perplexed by the odd behavior and quiet persona.

"Are you going to be all right by yourself?" he asks worriedly. "I've gotta go check on the kid and see if he needs help."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me," assures Cloud, unfazed at the fact that he was helped by the man he was supposed to eliminate. He had more important things on his mind to worry about than a breached contract with the god of the underworld.

Feeling a little uneasy, Hercules manages to pull himself away from the troubled young man and rushes back into the coliseum. Now that he was alone, Cloud had time to contemplate on what's happened to him.

_I still don't know what's going on_, he thought as he lays his chin on his interlocked hands. _Where am I? What happened to my world? What happened to my friends?... Are they dead?... Or are they as alive as I am and scattered to other places? What did Sephiroth mean when he said that I haven't let go of my darkness? What is my darkness? My past? My mistakes? Aerith?_

Cloud fought to suppress tears that threaten to drown his eyes. "No, I shouldn't…"

_Aerith's death isn't your fault._

With sorrowful eyes, Cloud gazes down at the ground. "I…"

He closes his eyes and tries effortlessly to recall the sights and sounds of his friends and comrades in arms. The people who stood by him through all the hard times, even when things looked bleak and impossible, came up in his mind one by one: Yuffie with her cheerful and uplifting personality; Barret and his ability to say what's really on his mind; Cid and his strong pride as a pilot; Red XIII with his deep and thoughtful words; Vincent's silent demeanor; Aerith and her kindness; Zack's encouraging speeches; and…

A white flash.

Cloud opens his eyes and shakes his head, confused by a strange feeling in his mind.

"Someone's… missing…"

In his heart he could feel he had forgotten about someone; someone very important to him. He searches through his memories, hoping to be able to remember who it was he could not remember. He could see long, dark brown hair tied at the bottom and a white tank top with a black miniskirt. Red shoes, red gloves, along with the ability to fight were what he saw next. The face was all blurred out so Cloud couldn't make out facial features, things that could trigger his memory. But, no matter how hard he tried, he just could not remember who it was he had forgotten. The blonde-haired swordsman became upset and unsettled by the sudden change in his memories.

_The darkness…_ he thought. _MY darkness. It must be responsible for the holes in my memories. But… WHAT is the source of my darkness? I don't understand… I need light… What IS my light? What's happening to me? Seek out the darkness, and regain my light. THAT is what I must do. Maybe then, things will finally start making sense. Maybe…_

Cloud's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey… Are you all right?"

The blonde-haired swordsman looks up to see the kid and his friends standing before him. _Am I all right? I've lost my home, my friends, my memories, my match to you, and you think I'm all right?!_

"Yeah," replies Cloud after a tentative pause.

"So…" began the teenage boy. "Why did you go along with Hades anyway?"

Cloud began thinking to himself to decide how to answer the boy's question. He wasn't sure that he should tell the kid, but somehow, something about the boy made him feel all right to explain himself. "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." He stands up and looks up at the clear-blue sky, hoping that maybe his lost memories would come back. But it didn't. "I fell into darkness and I couldn't find the light."

"You'll find it," assures the boy confidently. "I'm searching, too."

"For your light?" wonders Cloud, fascinated by the similarities between him and the boy.

A firm nod from the kid answers Cloud's question. With a smile, he walks over to the boy and places a reassuring hand on the kid's shoulder. "Don't lose sight of it."

_Like I have…_

Somehow strengthened by the boy's words of encouragement Cloud walks off, more determined and hopeful than he had ever been before. He felt as if Vincent's dark powers grew within him as a result of his interaction with the strange boy. What was it about that kid that seemed to give him strength?

Cloud shook his head, not really caring why. All that mattered now was finding everything he had lost.

**The End… Or is it?**

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**A/N:** Might post up an epilogue later. We shall see. ;)


	4. Epilogue

**A World Lost: Epilogue**

"Hey there, fella… What's with the strange look? Ya feelin' okay?"

"Cid?"

"Yeah?"

"Cid… Highwind?"

"The one and only! Do I know you?"

Cloud couldn't believe his deep blue eyes as he stared in awe and surprise at the man standing before him. Though unusually hunched over and dressed in an entirely different attire, it was indeed the same Cid the Cloud knew, albeit the lack of cursing and smoking. However, it was not the appearance that troubled Cloud the most. What really bothered him was that Cid didn't recognize him at all. But, Cloud was sure that this was the same Cid that he knew. There couldn't be a way for him to forget him. Maybe what was affecting Cloud's memories was affecting Cid's as well.

_I need to get to the bottom of this,_ he thought. _This is enough. If I could just find—_

"Hey, if you want to help out here, then follow me," Cid interrupts impatiently.

With a nod, Cloud follows behind his former friend. It had taken him some time to get to Hollow Bastion via Gummi ship. After his encounter with the strange boy with the big key, he managed to catch a ride with a passing traveler on a Gummi ship heading to a particular world. That was when he stepped into Traverse Town for the very first time. Aside from encountering more strange characters and becoming fascinated with the eternal night scene, Cloud was able to learn the identity of the strange boy he met back in Olympus Coliseum, who happened to be the chosen Keyblade master, Sora. His world was also destroyed by darkness, with his friends scattered to other unknown worlds. With renewed hope that his friends were all alive as well, Cloud eventually learned of the recently reclaimed Hollow Bastion where refugees from lost worlds were going to help. Cloud thought that if he could help restore the world of Hollow Bastion, maybe he could figure out how to restore his world as well.

Satisfied with his plan, Cloud hitches a ride with a refugee traveling to Hollow Bastion and ends up in a completely different world than what he had originally imagined. It was while wandering around the castle and staring out the windows towards the interesting Rising Falls that Cloud ends up running unintentionally into Cid.

As the two walked up a set of stairs, they began a sort of friendly conversation as if they were strangers all their lives.

"So, you're here to help rebuild this world, eh?" asks Cid.

"… Yeah," replies Cloud.

"That's great," responded the blonde-haired man. "We need all the help we can get."

A couple of kids, a boy and a girl, came dashing past the two causing Cid to flatten himself up against the wall. "Darn whipper-snappers!"

Smiling, Cloud began thinking of his carefree childhood days. "A lot of people from different worlds come here. Why?"

"For hope," answers Cid.

"Hope?" repeated Cloud.

"By coming here and helping to rebuild this world, refugees are able to gain a sense of hope that their worlds will be restored someday," explains Cid as he continues his way up the stairs towards the library. "For a lot of the people here, hope is all that's left of their world. It's the light in their darkness."

_However, you're the reason your world was destroyed. It's all your fault._

Frowning, Cloud shakes Sephiroth's words from his head. _If that kid Sora is tough enough to stand against the darkness, then I will, too!_

Pushing a pair of doors open, Cid leads Cloud through a maze of a library. Books filled every inch of every shelf in the room, looking as if it held the knowledge of all worlds. Turning a corner, Cloud's eyes went wide at the group in front of him.

"I introduce to ya the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee," exclaims Cid in a half-hearted tone as he introduces Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith to the young man. He then turns to the others and introduces Cloud. "This guy here wants to help. Anything he can do around 'ere?"

Cloud was grateful to see Yuffie alive and well, even though she didn't recognize him either. But it was Aerith that caught his deep blue eyes the most. There she was, in the flesh and completely alive from head to toe. Cloud thought that maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, or perhaps Cerberus had stepped on him harder than he thought. As Aerith approaches him curiously, his mind gently eases in the fact that she was here and alive. However, she had no memory of him at all, which didn't shock or surprise Cloud at all for some strange odd reason.

_Maybe, when people die and return to the Lifestream, they're given another life in an entirely different world,_ thought Cloud, recalling that when he fell into the Lifestream and remained there for a whole week, he had ended up in another, unfamiliar world where he saw someone who resembled Aerith. _Could that be what happened to dead people like Aerith? If that's the case then maybe Zack might be around as well. And my parents, too!_

"Are you all right?"

Cloud looks down to see Aerith look up at him with a concerned expression on her face. "I'm fine."

"I see," responded the brunette. "For a moment there, I thought you were about to cry."

"No, I'm fine, really," assures Cloud firmly.

"So, I'm thinking you can fight with that thing?" wonders Leon, indicating the sword in Cloud's hand.

"Yeah," answers the blonde-haired swordsman.

"Good," responds Leon. "You can help out by eliminating any Heartless you see around here."

"Don't worry about getting lost around here," exclaims Yuffie as she dashes up to Cloud. "I can help you out until you get used to the place."

"Thanks, Yuffie," replies Cloud. Suddenly, he falls to one knee and groans in pain.

"Are you all right?" exclaims Aerith.

"I… I'm fine," groaned Cloud. But the fact was he was far from being fine. Shortly after he had met Sora, Cloud wandered into Olympus Coliseum and encountered Sephiroth there. A fight ensued and Sephiroth disappeared soon after, leaving Cloud extremely weakened from using the powers of darkness to fight the one-winged angel, even with Vincent's powers helping to keep the darkness at bay.

"Let's take him to the chapel," suggested Aerith. "I can help him recover there."

"Good idea," agrees Cid. "I'll go look for Beast and ask him to help out."

The blonde-haired pilot turns to leave the library while Leon and Yuffie help Cloud into a chair for the time being. Afterwards, the two returned to looking for helpful books with Belle while Aerith sits with the weakened warrior. Feeling slightly embarrassed by his condition, Cloud stares blankly at the floor until Aerith interrupts his random concentration.

"You… were staring at me," she vociferates gently. "For a long time."

"I'm sorry," apologizes the young man. "You're not the one I was looking for."

"The one?" repeated Aerith curiously. "Are you… are you looking for your light?"

Cloud gives a silent nod in response, never taking his eyes off the floor. Suddenly, he feels a soft, warm hand on his clawed arm. Surprised by the act of kindness, he turns to look at Aerith, her hands still on his.

"You'll find your light," she assures him with a gentle smile.

Behind the red cloak, Cloud's eyes shine through with curiosity. "How can you be so sure?"

Aerith chuckles softly. "Because Sora found his light. If he could find his, you can find yours. It's not impossible."

Cloud could feel some weight lift from his shoulders as he heard her words. As he looks at the brunette, the young woman's image suddenly began to slowly change in front of his eyes. Where Aerith once was sat the same young woman he saw in his blurry memories. This time her face was bright and clear, smiling as if to assure him that everything was going to be all right.

_My… light… It looks like…_

**_The end… of THIS story_**


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